Caribbean Issue

Sweet dream

Hills, beaches of St. John perfect backdrop for fantasy

Multimedia

If you go

ST. JOHN

The island, one of the three main U.S. Virgin Islands, is about 9 miles long and 4 miles wide with a population of about 5,000. Two-thirds of the island is covered by Virgin Islands National Park.

GETTING THERE

U.S. citizens don't need a passport to visit the U.S. Virgin Islands, territories of the United States.

Most visitors will arrive on the island of St. Thomas and take a short ferry ride to St. John.

Several major airlines service the Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas. Landing can be a thrill. Passengers can see many beautiful islands dotting the turquoise ocean on the descent. And the runway juts into the ocean. When my plane was about to touch down, I looked out the window and saw nothing but water.

Ferries to St. John operate from the docks at Red Hook and more infrequently from the main town (and capital), Charlotte Amalie.

STAYING THERE

Visitors will find a variety of accommodations on St. John, including the beautiful and luxurious Caneel Bay, a resort with deluxe accommodations set amid Virgin Islands National Park, with seven beautiful beaches of its own.

For more modest (and much less expensive) lodgings, consider Maho Bay Camps, a pioneer in ecotourism. Maho offers 114 tentlike cabins set just above Little Maho Bay on land bordering the national park.

Maho also operates a similar green resort, Estate Concordia on the dramatic southeastern side of St. John. The company also rents several studio apartments at Maho and Concordia, which offer a few more creature comforts, including private bathrooms.

For more information, call 1-800-392-9004 or visit www.

maho.org.

Information on sustainable tourism and development in the Virgin Islands is available through the nonprofit Virgin Islands Resource Conservation and Development Council at www.

usvircd.org.

PLAYING THERE

Snorkeling and diving are among the most popular activities on St. John, with good reason. Much of the island is surrounded by beautiful colorful coral reefs, many protected by Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument. Visitors can choose from dozens of great beaches surrounding the island.

The island, covered with steep hills, also offers many scenic -- and rugged -- hiking trails.

The small town of Cruz Bay has many oceanfront restaurants, shops and bars.

VISITING OTHER ISLANDS

A visitor to St. John will have plenty to see and do on the island (or in the waters just offshore). But with so many exciting island destinations nearby, visitors should consider one of the many commercial excursions, including day sails, snorkeling or diving tours, originating on St. John.

I enjoyed a day trip with Limnos Charters to Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. There our group frolicked among the amazing rock formations of the Baths with house-sized boulders forming sand-bottomed tunnels and small caves in ankle-deep water along the shore. Later we snorkeled some of the coast and shallow caves of Norman Island. Like many such trips, mine was all-inclusive and included lunch, an open bar, snorkel gear and ground transportation on Virgin Gorda.

Travelers considering a side trip to the British Virgin Islands should be sure to bring a passport.

For information on Limnos Charters, call 340-775-3203 or visit limnoscharters.com.

Other tours can be found through the commercial Web sites listed above.

LEARNING MORE

For more information on St. John and the other U.S. Virgin Islands, call the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism at 1-800-372-USVI (1-800-372-8784) or visit www.usvitourism.vi.

Cruz Bay is St. John's only major town and has a picturesque setting on the water.

Sweet dream -

CRUZ BAY, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Even travelers who have never visited
the island of St. John will recognize it from their dreams.

The green hills, sugary beaches and Technicolor coral reefs make this the
prototypical tropical paradise about which everyone, at one time or another, must have
fantasized.

And the natural beauty is still largely unspoiled on the least-populated
of the three main U.S. Virgin Islands.

Although St. John has undergone something of a building boom in the past
few decades, in the tussle between progress and preservation, preservation still seems to have the
upper hand.

Virgin Islands National Park now comprises about two-thirds

of the island. And several resorts claim the trendy "green" label.

One that, without a doubt, has proved its eco-friendliness is Maho Bay Camps, founded in 1976
before the term
ecotourism had even been coined.

The 114 cabins at Maho Bay are simple wood-framed structures with canvas roofs and walls and
large screen windows and doors. The cabins, reception desk, activities desk, dining pavilion, camp
store and beach are connected by decks and stairways rambling up, down and sideways over the entire
hillside. The effect is whimsical, almost Dr. Seussian. But Dr. Seuss never drew backgrounds like
this.

From the deck of my cabin, I had a gorgeous view of Little Maho Bay, Francis Bay and the steep,
lush hillside of Mary Point. The magnificent beach at Little Maho Bay was several flights down from
my cabin. (By the end of my stay, my legs, while not aching, were certainly feeling a bit
rubbery.)

Even though it was late when I arrived, I had to get down to that beach, if only to wash the
dust of Ohio off my toes in that warm cerulean ocean. I was rewarded with a magnificent golden
sight, the sun settling oh-so-gently behind the points and islands. Little Maho Bay, which faces
west, is ideal for watching sunsets, as I happily learned.

Maho was not plush, but neither was it Spartan. I was quite pleased with the resort and with the
bargain $80-a-night price, despite the hurricane-season humidity that often left me feeling like
the slimiest thing on the island -- and that includes the black finger-sized millipedes that I
often spotted almost underfoot. (I have no actual first-hand knowledge of the slime level of those
creatures and hope to never acquire any.)

Maho was also empty, relatively speaking. Activities, tours and shuttle rides can be sparse in
the slow months of August, September and October. But business and activities pick up in November
as the hurricane and rainy season end.

To escape the heat and enjoy the beautiful reefs, I spent as much time in the water as possible.
In the ocean, I felt great. Floating in the warm, gentle water, I mused that manatees and whales
might be an ancient race of overweight northern travelers that somehow became stuck in the tropics
and evolved.

A convenient desk at the beach at Maho rents snorkel and dive gear, and small boats and kayaks.
It can also arrange snorkel and dive excursions.

Some good snorkeling can be had right off the beach at Maho, especially around the point between
Little Maho and Maho bays where I spent several happy hours swimming through the amazingly clear
water among the rainbow-colored fish. At one point, I was enveloped in a cloud of silver, thousands
of tiny fish darting this way and that, reflecting the bright tropic sun at each turn.

I was also thrilled to see a ray just off Francis Beach just a short swim from Little Maho. And
even better reefs can be found just a short walk or swim away.

To explore further, guests can rent a car on the island, although driving the narrow, bumpy,
twisting roads can be more of an adventure than some folks might like.

I got around by riding the ubiquitous open-air safari taxis (converted pickup trucks). The
taxis, which are often shared, are a great way to meet other visitors.

I shared one with an older Tennessean who was in the islands to check on his 54-foot French-made
sailboat. I didn't get invited aboard, but I did get a great tip about the Goat Trail, a shortcut
linking the Maho Bay camps with Maho Bay itself.

At the other end of the spectrum, I shared another taxi with four kids from Richmond, Va., who
were traveling with nothing but a tip about a good beach, a little cash and a plastic garbage bag
filled with ice and cheap beer, which they were more than happy to share with a stranger.

Chances are, anyone on the island who has spent any time here will willingly recount more
favorite snorkel or dive spots than a visitor can possibly explore in one stay. Trunk Bay, in the
national park, is the most popular beach on the island.

Unfortunately on my visit, high swells closed the famous snorkel trail, an easy underwater loop
marked with interpretive signage. Trunk Bay was still a fine place for swimming, with greens and
blues so bright and vivid that the landscape seemed almost unreal, like a video game or colorized
movie, at least to someone from the comparatively drab Midwest.

Trunk Bay also has a great beach with lifeguards and good facilities, including lockers,
bathhouses, a snack bar and souvenir stand. Taxis are almost always available during daylight
hours.

The beaches at swanky Caneel Bay resort also are open to the public and well worth a visit, if
only to see what $600 or more a night gets these days. Cinnamon Bay, Hawksnest Bay, Leinster Bay
are other popular spots on the north shore of the island (where my visit was largely confined.)

Hikers will discover numerous trails -- several good island trail maps are available -- that
crisscross the island up steep, green inclines ending at some of the most remarkable vantage points
in the Caribbean.

Visitors also will want to spend at least part of the day in Cruz Bay, a picturesque
pastel-colored harbor and the island's commercial center. The national park visitors center is
here, as are many small shops, bars and restaurants, most in hues of coral, turquoise, orchid,
aquamarine and the like.

Cruz Bay is the docking point for ferries from St. Thomas, where most visitors will start their
Virgin Island trip. It's also the origination point for most popular off-island excursions and
tours.

Visitors can also catch a cross-island bus here for Coral Bay, St. John's second city (or, more
accurately, second tiny village).

I skipped that trip, though, to opt for more time in the water. I didn't grow any fins, but I
saw many sights -- sea turtles, a stingray, fish that might have been a collaboration between Dali
and van Gogh -- that I'll certainly revisit in my dreams.